The murmur of voices from the room across the hall was steady. What
were they saying? What had Ida May told them? How were the Balls
taking it? Could that cheap, little thing convince the old people
that she was their niece and that the girl they had come to love and
trust was an impostor? Sheila Macklin's heart bled for Cap'n Ira and
Prudence!
If she must go and they took this other girl in her place, would
they be happy? And they had been happy during these last months!
Would they not miss her if she left them to the mercy of this new
claimant?
Yes, Sheila loved Cap'n Ira and Prudence. She loved them as though
they were her very own! Not since her father had died had the girl
been so fond of anybody--except Tunis, of course. And what would
Tunis say when he came?
What would he expect her to do? To admit the truth of Ida May's
claim and give up without a battle? If she did this, she would
expose him as well as herself to infamy. It was a situation that
would have appalled a person of much stronger character than Sheila
Macklin, and she was no weakling.
No! She could not give up--not without a struggle. As she had first
decided, she must confront the new girl boldly and deny, if she
could, any claim Ida May Bostwick put forward.
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